Fátima

Fatima

400 kilometres separate the village of Vinhais, in the north of Portugal, from the Sanctuary of Fátima. It's the longest pilgrimage route one can take to Fátima from within Portugal, and it's the route João Canijo chose for his new feature film: Eleven actresses embark on the pilgrimage together with an old driver and a van, where they sleep, eat, tend to their foot injuries ... and fight, because human inter- actions are complex by nature. Mixing reality and fiction, the film is mainly based on improvisation. The result is an inevitable tumult of crossed dialogues, tensions and complicities, generating scenes that can be just as dramatic as they are funny. (Vitor Pinto, Cineuropa)

Director's Biography
João Canijo
Instead of attending film school, João Canijo learned filmmaking by working as an assistant director. Between 1980 and 1985 he worked with Manoel de Oliveira, Wim Wenders, Alain Tanner and Werner Schroeter. Since his debut "Three Less Me" (1988) he has directed many features. "Blood of My Blood" (2011) received the FIPRESCI Award in San Sebastian and the Crossing Europe New Vision Award 2012.

Film Selection: Fátima (Fatima, 2017) — Diário das beiras (2017, doc) — Portugal – Um dia de cada vez (Portugal – One Day at a Time, 2015, doc), — É o amor (That’s Love, 2013) — Sangue do meu sangue (Blood of My Blood, 2011, CE’12) — Mal nascida (Misbegotten, 2007) — Sapatos pretos (Black Shoes, 1997) — Três menos eu (Three Less Me, 1988)
European Panorama Fiction 2018
João Canijo
Portugal / France 2017
color
153 minutes
Portuguese
OV with English subtitles
Screenplay João Canijo
Cinematography Mário Castanheira, Anabela Moreira
Editing João Braz
Sound/Sounddesign Olivier Hespel, Elsa Ferreira, Gérard Rousseau
With Vera Barreto, Cleia Almeida, Anabela Moreira, Rita Blanco, Márcia Breia, Teresa Madruga, Teresa Tavares
Producer(s) Pedro Borges, François d’Artemare
Production
Midas Filmes, Les Films de l’Après-midi
Austrian Premiere
Weltpremiere / World Premiere
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018

Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere